Fighting crime and maintaining order: shared worldviews of civilian and military elites in Brazil and Mexico

Abstract

Domestic internal security missions have become a centrepiece of Brazil and Mexico’s counter-narcotic efforts. Relying on a set of interviews, this article addresses narratives of elites engaged in the decision-making process and implementation of military operations to counter drug trafficking crimes in Rio de Janeiro and Tijuana. In spite of different levels of drug trafficking organisation and international ramification, this article points out the existence of shared narratives of growing insecurity and criminal strength in Brazil and Mexico, justifying state military reaction against a perceived national security threat. The article thus suggests the relevance of civil–military elites’ perception in defining public policies’ instruments and, ultimately, in upholding the militarisation of security in democratic regimes.     

我国污点证人制度之构建

污点证人制度在许多国家和地区都被很成功地运用,在司法实践中起到了重要作用。我国已签署《联合国反腐败公约》,因此,有必要在此框架下构建适合我国司法环境的污点证人制度。     

Implementing the human right to water and sanitation: a study of global and local discourses

This article explores global and local discourses on how to implement the newly recognised human right to water and sanitation (HRtWS). We analyse the potential limitations of the human rights frame in the context of critiques that human rights are a liberal, Western discourse that does not reflect the lived experiences of non-Western countries. Through two case studies we find that there are two discourses emerging on how to implement the HRtWS. At the global level, as seen in the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the HRtWS, we find a hegemonic discourse that is state-centric and market-friendly. In Bolivia, a country currently implementing a human rights-based approach to water services, we find a counter-hegemonic discourse on implementation. We argue that the hegemonic discourse is incomplete and does not fully address barriers to fulfilment of the right, such as state corruption and the needs of peri-urban residents.     

中俄国际政治安全秩序观:基于实证分析的比较研究

国际政治安全秩序观是有关国家对国际政治安全秩序的性质、发展趋势、维护路径、本国与之关系等问题的看法、立场和主张的总和,对国家对外行为有重要影响。作为一种抽象的国家观念,它既可见于国家对外政策权威文件,也体现在一国有关国际政治安全问题的对外行为中。通过中俄对外政策文件,考察两国国际政治安全秩序观之异同,并结合中俄有关国际政治安全问题的外交行为,特别是两国在安理会的投票,可以逆向透视两国国际政治安全秩序观。这种互补性研究路径结合文本解读与对外行为分析,使二者彼此验证,可弥补单一路径之偏颇。中俄均主张维护以联合国为核心的国际政治安全秩序的稳定,推动多极化秩序朝更加公正合理的方向发展,维护国际公平正义,反对军备竞赛和外空军事化,反对霸权主义和强权政治,尊重公认的国际法准则与和平共处五项原则,主张通过政治和外交途径解决国际冲突,并非西方所谓的“修正主义国家”。中俄两国在对多极化的理解、维护国际政治安全的手段和依靠力量、欧亚地区秩序、对以联合国为核心的国际安全制度的尊重程度等方面有异。比较而言,中国之“言”(国际政治安全秩序声明)与“行”(维护国际政治安全秩序之行为)更显一致。     

When Managerialism Meets Internationalism: Administrative Reform in the United Nations in the 1970s

This article examines whether reform ideas that gained influence in national-level bureaucracies in the 1970s were also on the United Nations’ internal agenda. The Joint Inspection Unit (Bertrand) Report of 1971 is the focus of this analysis, as it addressed personnel problems in the UN Secretariat and identified structural shortcomings. Our analysis shows that New Public Management ideas were in circulation in the UN at this time. It also demonstrates the different pressures that international bureaucracies face in regard to their personnel. This is likely to make their responses to reform pressures, such as those experienced in the 1970s, unique.     

论联合国可持续发展机构改革的国际法问题——以RIO＋20议程为视角

2012年联合国可持续发展大会确立的RIO＋20议程对国际可持续发展的机构改革问题作出了重大调整。虽历经20年的积累,与可持续发展有关的国际法规范松散而总体缺乏约束力。RIO＋20后联合国创设了可持续发展高级别政治论坛以取代可持续发展委员会,但未来联合国可持续发展机构改革的方向仍需以环境议题为主,探索不同形式和不同重点的组织模式,以促进国际可持续发展目标的实现。     

Seas,Oceans and Fisheries: A Challenge for Good Governance

Abstract

Seas, oceans and fisheries are probably among the most challenging natural resource systems to govern. This contribution discusses why this is so by analysing the key issues and presenting a selection of approaches to tackle them. The main recommendations are for control of illegal and open access fisheries, reduction of perverse subsidies, establishment of more marine protected areas, and proper evaluation of the importance of fisheries to future generations. Only then can fisheries be managed sustainably. The paper uses fish and fisheries in the Commonwealth of Nations to illustrate the points being made.     

儿童兵规范的演变:国内武装冲突局势下的儿童保护

冷战结束后,在国内武装冲突中,儿童沦为国家武装部队与武装组织招募的对象。儿童兵的出现在某种程度上使得儿童从武装冲突的受害者转变为施暴者,导致国内武装冲突更加血腥、更难结束。为说服武装冲突各方放弃招募和使用儿童兵、打破"冲突—招募—冲突"的恶性循环,联合国及其相关机构采取了诸多举措,积极致力于倡导和传播儿童兵规范,把武装冲突局势中的儿童保护问题提升至国际与国内的和平与安全议程。从理论层面而言,儿童兵规范兴起与传播的动力和逻辑值得关注。第一,联合国及其相关机构作为规范倡导者,在儿童兵规范的兴起、发展与扩散阶段发挥了重要作用。第二,儿童兵规范的传播对象突破了国家行为体的范畴,日益重视对武装组织等非国家行为体的教化。第三,儿童兵的议题特征也有助于其规范的广泛传播。第四,时代背景也为儿童兵规范的兴起和传播创造了有力的政治条件。     

Gendering the Rwanda Defence Force: A Critical Assessment

Over the past five years the Government of Rwanda has placed renewed emphasis on increasing the number of female military personnel and gender mainstreaming the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF). This article examines the efforts made by the RDF since 2007 to meet these strategic requirements and integrate women into the national security organ. It is suggested that, in spite of Rwanda's success in bringing women into the political sphere, women are still reluctant to join the military. It is argued that prevailing societal values and attitudes, conflicting narratives within official discourse about the role of women as security actors, resource constraints and the RDF's emphasis on ‘gender equality’ are barriers to achieving RDF goals. Drawing on in-depth interviews with RDF military personnel and government officials, as well as documentary research, the article first provides an overview of the Rwandan government's approach to mobilizing women to securitize the state, before examining how the RDF aims to progress the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda nationally and within local communities. The article then reflects on some of the factors that are hindering the recruitment and retention of female military personnel.     

联合国的人权思想与实践

联合国自创立以来,构建和发展了一套以《联合国宪章》和《世界人权宣言》为核心的人权公约体系,并通过实践形成了人权思想和理论,创造了实现人权思想的论坛和机制。中国承认《世界人权宣言》的基本思想,以积极、务实的态度参加国际人权条约,完善国内立法,努力把发展的思想结合到人权实践中,对联合国的人权思想和实践具有重大意义。